Mikhail Aleshin lost the handle on his machine at lap 114 entering turn two, slamming the outside wall and taking Conor Daly’s Dale Coyne-owned entry with him in a cloud of smoke. With the yellow sparking a cycle of stops that took Bell and Hunter-Reay out of contention due to contact exiting the pit lane, Alex Tagliani and Rossi stayed out to gain track position in the second half, both hoping they could parlay it into a win.
And the duo flexed their muscle in a big way as the race began to wind down. Between them, they led every lap from the lap 120 restart through lap 138, when Castroneves rolled back to the point for Team Penske in search of his record-tying fourth 500 victory. But with 52 laps to go, he got a challenge from behind in Munoz, who soared to the point under full race conditions for the first time all day and looked to avenge his runner-up finish to Hunter-Reay two years prior.
Moments after Munoz took the lead, the race’s penultimate yellow flew as 1996 winner Buddy Lazier coasted to a stop down the backstretch after losing a wheel in turn two. That incident, followed by Takuma Sato’s brush with the wall that turned out to be the final caution on the day, set up pit stops on lap 164 and a 36-lap fuel run to the finish that had everyone biting their nails and holding their breath.
Tony Kanaan and Josef Newgarden were the two drivers who appeared to have the best cars out front in the late stages, with the pair combining to lead 25 of the laps in the final run, but both saw their hopes for 500 glory fade as their fuel cells ran dry — Kanaan pitting with eight laps left and Newgarden having to follow suit two circuits later.
That left the field in Munoz’s hands, and the young Colombian stayed out as long as he could before finally having to dart pitside for a splash of fuel coming to four to go. And while he fought back as Rossi saved every drop in excruciating fashion, it wasn’t enough as he came home a gutting second, by 4.4975 seconds at the twin checkers.
“I knew I had this one,” Munoz said after climbing from his car. “My car was flying. I was so good for most of the race. Physically and mentally, the car was flying. For being half-a-lap short of fuel, we didn’t make it and gave it to my teammate.”
“I was just cruising around with the rear of the car and going flat-out (in the final laps) … but it wasn’t enough. This is the 500. Anything can happen and today, I finished second. One thing is clear, though — I will win the 500 one day.”
